Port Vale boss admits his side were second best to a Peterborough United team who have players worth millions

Two goals from skipper Jonson Clarke-Harris and another from Joe Ward sealed a 3-0 win for Posh at the Weston Homes Stadium.

The win ended a run of four straight League One defeats for Posh who moved up two places to eighth, just two points outside the play-off places.

It was a first defeat in six competitive matches for Vale who are now 15th.

Clarke told the Stoke Sentinel: “It was a tough afternoon for us. We started the game really well, on the front foot, getting in their faces and perhaps (would have) created one or two better opportunities for ourselves if we’d looked after the final ball.

“But then we gave them a soft goal. That’s what you don’t want to do against a team of Peterborough’s calibre and it gave them that uplift after their recent poor form.

“We responded, we kept going. It wasn’t for lack of effort and endeavour, but Peterborough were better than us on the day and we have to learn from these difficult occasions.

"It helps they could bring on (Jack) Marriott and had Clarke-Harris, a million-pound player in the starrting line-up. They have good players and half a million pound central midfielders.

“They are a team that has just come down from the Championship. They had been in a bit of a run of bad form, but that is a little bit false. Having watched the games, they have been unfortunate not to pick up more points and they will be there or thereabouts at the end of the season.

“The big thing for me is that while not being anywhere near our best, we were still competitive.”